ove them or hate them, the Florida
Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a subspecies of the West
Indian Manatee, is in our waters and has
been for millions of years. Love them?
Most people do love them and seek them
out to view for their unique characteristics – large, gray, sausage-shaped marine
mammals with big flippers and a paddle for
a tail, slowly moving and grazing through
the Florida waters. Hate them? Hate is a
strong feeling, but it mostly has been expressed when a slow speed, idle speed or
no entry manatee protection zones are
established for boating by the state of
Florida. Millions of years? Yes, evidence in
museums display forty-five-million-yearold animal fossils from the manatee family that were found in Florida. Florida’s
native Indians created ceremonial pipes in
the form of manatees and manatee bones
have been found at refuse sites and in Indian mounds. Writers and explorers from
the early nineteenth century commented
that West Indian Manatees were “found
in large numbers” and were “remarkably
abundant”. Pioneers documented killing
manatees for meat, oil and hides, but by
1893, Florida passed protection laws that
made it illegal to hunt for manatees, even
though poaching of these large animals
continued throughout the Great Depression and World War II because of a shortage of meat.

As Florida developed and became
more populated, of course, more coastal
construction and boats became part of
the landscape. It is not hard to comprehend why Florida has more boats than
any other state. The first report of manatee deaths by boat collision was in 1943.
Building on the first protective laws of no
hunting, in the early 1980s, speed zones
and no entry zones were established by
Florida via the Florida Manatee Sanctuary
Act (Chapter 370.12(2), Florida Statues.)
This Act declared Florida to be a refuge or
sanctuary for the manatee and declared it
as “Florida’s state marine mammal.” This
Act authorized the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to
adopt rules that regulate speed and operation of motor vessels to protect manatees
from death due to collision and from harassment. FWC can also designate habitat, such as sea grass beds, as safe havens
for manatees to rest, feed, reproduce, give
birth and nurse their young while undisturbed by human activity.
The Florida Manatee is also listed under the 1973 federal Endangered Species
Act. This Act provides the mechanism to
conserve ecosystems and habitat that sup-

Mother Manatee swims away when released.

port the manatee and further increase protection by making it illegal to harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill capture or
collect. If you see a manatee or it’s “footprint” on the water surface, a vessel should
avoid its path; turn off engine and drift to
enjoy the manatee, staying 50 feet from the
animal. Any closer is harassment. Manatees do not need to be fed or watered. Being
vegetarian, they munch sea grasses and get
fresh water from the food they eat. It may
be amusing to offer a hose to a manatee for
a drink of fresh water, but it does change
their natural behavior and puts them in
harm’s way of boats and their props.
Why all this protection and what is the
economic impact of protecting manatees?
$1.50 from every registered vessel in the
State is transferred to Save the Manatee
Trust Fund and is used for specific pur-

It takes a community – Last year, FWC brought down a mother and baby manatee for release at the Calusa Marina. The manatees had been at Mote Marine Lab recovering from
cold stress. The volunteers used “hammocks” to carry the manatees down the boat ramp and
release in the water.

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Baby Manatee being prepped for release.

poses, such as population census, research
and education. Some say this fee and posting the speed zones, maintenance and enforcement of the zones is over the top. But
these protected zones have helped stabilize
the population numbers and have lowered
the number of boat collisions resulting in
death. Another benefit that is financially
important to Florida is the protected manatee habitats also guarantee a healthy marine habitat for other economically important species such as commercial fish, game
fish, crustaceans, sea turtles and other animals. They all depend on sea grasses and
good water quality conditions to flourish.
Manatees are unique animals; some
would say an irreplaceable national treasure as they are a one of a kind species in
North America. It is up to residents and visitors of Florida to ensure that this species
and its diverse natural habitat are around
for many generations to come. Marco Island has a healthy year round population
of manatees. Let’s love them, but not to
death.
Please report any sightings of harassment (feeding, touching, circling with vessel), distressed, injured or dead manatees
by calling the FWC Wildlife Alert number
at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). For more information, stickers or boat banners, please
contact Nancy Richie, Environmental Specialist, City of Marco Island at 239-3895003 or nrichie@cityofmarcoisland.com.

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